February | 2010 | Colinizer

I’ll also be lined up to develop application for it too.

However, from the Mix10 blog for the Mix10 event where the development story is scheduled to be officially unveiled (with my highlighting):

Join us at MIX10 and be among the first to learn how to build applications and games for Windows Phone 7 Series. We’ll introduce you to the development platform, show you how to work with the Windows Phone 7 Series development tools, and give you a tour of the Windows Phone Marketplace. All MIX10 attendees will receive access to the Windows Phone 7 Series development tools and have access to a dedicated track on the Windows Phone 7 Series platform that runs throughout the event.
MIX10 attendees will get exclusive free developer support for the Windows Phone 7 Series development tools. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to be among the first to learn about Windows Phone 7 Series.

The first highlight shows a lose-lose statement.

Either:

Microsoft risks shunning the hordes of non-Mix-attendees (who didn’t go for many potentially important reasons), by delaying their access to the tools.

Microsoft risks shunning the Mix-attendees because everyone else will undoubtedly get the tools very quickly (if not immediately) if Microsoft is serious about gaining developer support in a short time.

So it really seems like an attempt to get Mix attendance up. Given that the discount deadline has been extended many times, it seems that getting people to these events is increasingly difficult.

Microsoft has streamed the PDC and Mix keynotes for the last 3 or 4 events now and made session videos available in about 48 hours. Unless this is about to change, the real benefit of going to these events is business networking. I’d like Microsoft to publish the keynote and session access numbers.

I’ll be watching and blogging the keynote(s) live. I’d love to go, but my priorities don’t lead me there this year.

Update: I’m going! I’m gonna squeeze it in – so may live tweet and blog later.

The second highlighted statement (about support) is fair enough, but again, if Microsoft is serious about getting developer output in less than 6 months, it will need to offer up something – I’d suggest additional mobile-specific support incidents for MSDN subscribers.

As I mentioned in January, I’m also expecting to see a free ‘Microsoft Visual Phone Developer 2010 Express Edition’, if Microsoft really wants to give this the ground swell it needs for a proper launch.